Alleviating Heat Stress in Fattening Pigs: Low-Intensity Showers in Critical Hours Alter Body External Temperature, Feeding Pattern, Carcass Composition, and Meat Quality Characteristics.

Heat stress is a significant environmental problem that has a detrimental impact on animal welfare and production efficiency in swine farms. The current study was conducted to assess the effect of low-intensity showers, provided during critical high-temperature hours daily, on body external temperature, feeding pattern, and carcass and meat quality characteristics in fattening pigs. A total of 400 animals (200 barrows and 200 gilts) were randomly allotted in 40 pens.

Regrouping of pigs by body weight at weaning does not affect growth performance, carcass quality or uniformity at slaughter of heavy weight pigs.

We studied the influence of pen uniformity at weaning (7.5 ± 0.6 kg vs.

Feeding level in the period previous to the late fattening phase influences fat composition at slaughter in free-ranged Iberian pigs.

A group of 11 pigs was fed with 70 g feed per kg of metabolic weight (H pigs) and another group of 11 pigs was fed with 50g feed per kg of metabolic weight (L pigs). In both experimental groups (H and L pigs), it was observed that the higher initial proportion of C16:0, C18:0 and C18:2 (n-6) in backfat at the beginning of the free-range feeding period, the greater decrease rate of these fatty acid proportions regarding weight gain during the free-range fattening period took place. On the other hand, the greater initial proportion of C18:1 (n-9), the smaller increase rate in the concentration of this fatty acid was observed.